Mormon girl Leesie has life figured out--until devastated Michael lands in her high school. CAYMAN SUMMER is the third novel in Michael and Leesie's romance that began with TAKEN BY STORM. My readers rallied around me—giving me the guts to release UNBROKEN CONNECTION (Book #2) independently. I launched this blog because I wanted them with me every step as I wrote CAYMAN SUMMER. I posted the novel as I wrote each scene. Now this blog is devoted to all things Michael and Leesie.

Pages

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Celebrate good times!! I just found out SING ME TO SLEEP won for YA Fiction in the USA Best Books 2011 Awards sponsored by USA Book News. YAY!!! Dance and sing. And blog.

I did a marathon revision session for SING ME TO SLEEP, the Musical yesterday. I polished it up and sent it off to my collaborator, award-winning composer, Harriet Bushman, from London, England. We're hoping to produce it in 2013. Harriet wrote the music for "Beth's Song" and "Take me Home" so you know the music will be fantastic.

Would you like to read some? Here's the opening scene. It's a big, up-tempo dance number. Do you think I captured the scene? Writing it as a musical play is so different from a chapter in a novel. You have to sacrifice a lot of details, but it's fun to imagine it on the stage while you write.

SING ME TO
SLEEP

adapted from the
novel, Sing me to Sleep by Angela
Morrison

Book by Angela
Morrison

Lyrics by Angela
Morrison

Music by Harriet
Bushman

ACT I

Scene 1

Setting:The
halls of Port High School, designated by a row of lockers or locker flat.

At Rise:Lights
up on row of lockers, HIGH SCHOOL KIDS, COLBY, HORSEMAN2, milling in the hall
before the first bell rings. COLBY is the center of everyone’s attention.

(Song:
“WE’RE COOL, WE RULE”)

COLBY

I BUST MY BUTT TO MAKE PORT
HIGH THE BEST

ALL GUYS

SATURDAY’S
GAME WE’L FACE THE TEST

GIRLS

DON’T
WORRY, GUYS—YOU ALWAYS WIN

ALL HIGH SCHOOL
KIDS

LET’S
DO IT ONE MORE TIME!

WE’LL BE LOST COLBY WHEN YOU
LEAVE

COLBY

I
GOTTA GRADUATE—AND BE FREE!

ALL HIGH SCHOOL
KIDS

WHO
WILL TELL US HOW TO WALK AND TALK?

COLBY

I’LL
SAY IT ONE MORE TIME—

I’M
COOL

I
RULE

THERE’S
NO PLACE TO HIDE FROM ME

FOR
LOSERS CRYING

IT
AIN’T RIGHT.

ALL

WE’RE
COOL

WE
RULE

WE
KNOW WHAT TO WEAR AND DRIVE

NOT
LIKE LOSERS CRYING

IT
AIN’T RIGHT.

(Enter
HORSEMAN1 with THE OFFERING. THE OFFERING wears only white briefs, black socks
and tennis shoes.)

COLBY, HORSEMEN
1 & 2

(stick
a bike chain through THE OFFERING’s underwear and chain him to BETH’s locker
while singing)

NOWHERE TO HIDE FROM US,
NOWHERE TO RUN.

PLACES PEOPLE THIS JOKE WILL
BE FUN!

THERE SHE IS—WE’LL GET HER

ONE MORE TIME!!

ALL

BETH THE BEAST POLLUTING OUR HALL

SHE’S DAMN UGLY AND TOO DAMN
TALL

FREAKS LIKE HER SHOULDN’T BE

ALLOWED TO BREATHE.

WE’RE COOL

WE RULE

THERE’S NO PLACE TO HIDE FROM
US

FOR LOSERS CRYING

IT AIN’T RIGHT

WE’RE COOL

WE RULE

WE KNOW WHAT TO WEAR AND
DRIVE

NOT LOKE LOSERS CRYING

IT AIN’T RIGHT

REMEMBER OUR FUNNY PLAYGROUND
GAMES?

BROKEN GLASSES—SUCH A CRYING
SHAME

VIPER, FOUR-EYES, SQUIRREL
FACE CAN’T BE

ALLOWED TO BREATHE!!!

AND SCOTT THAT HYPER KID
GLUED TO HER SIDE.

WE KICKED HIM DOWN, HE RAN
HOME AND CRIED.

COLBY

ACT NATURAL—PLACES—PEOPLE

ONE MORE TIME!!!

(Music
continues under the action and dialogue. ALL take up natural places at lockers
or in groups talking. Enter BETH, left. She walks hunched over, hiding behind
her hair, watching her feet. Everyone pretends to ignore her, stares after her
when she walks by. Ad lib, suppressed sniggering.)

(BETH
sees the OFFERING, rushes up to him.)

BETH

Are you okay? Did they hurt you?

(BETH
touches THE OFFERING’s arm. He pulls back and stares at it like its going to
turn to stone.)

THE OFFERING
(frightened)

They said to tell you I’m the offering.
They said the Beast requires a sacrifice every full moon.

(ALL
gather behind BETH, laughing and catcalling.)

COLBY

Dude, the Beast’s got a mate.

BETH (ignoring
the crowd behind her)

It’s okay. We’ll get Mr. Finney to bring
his bolt-cutters. I don’t eat freshmen for breakfast.

(Curtain
or black-out leaving BETH and SCOTT in front of curtain or in a spotlight for
Scene 2. Everyone else exits.)

In Scene 2, Beth and Scott sing a duet that covers the second half of chapter one--the Beauty and the Beast scene. It's a huge contrast to this--fanciful and dreamy, with some funny parts, too. I'm traveling the next two weeks, but if I get a chance, I'll post some of that scene next.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Summer 2010 I sent a few books down to bloggers in Brazil, and because of all the hard work those bloggers did promoting SING ME TO SLEEP, a year later, the Brazilian edition was released. Here's the cover.

Lais, from Fracky.com.br, already reviewed it. She told me they did an excellent job with the translation. I'm so happy to know that. Lais said, "I received from publisher soon as it was released and read again (and I cried again, of course). . . . [T]he translation to Portuguese was perfect, didn't lose the essence of the book."

I can't wait to get my own copy of it! I'm always amazed at how hard all you wonderful bloggers will work for books you believe in. I'm so thankful so many of you continue to believe in mine!